Summary: This youth comedy-drama from documentary filmmaker Barbara Wong is an assuredly-directed pleasure that's funny and even touching without being too maudlin or overly-manipulative. This isn't a world-beating movie, but it's a fine counter to Hong Kong's usual overdone popstar youth dramas.
Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat is a film that could have starred a lot of big-name popstars. A thinly-disguised metaphorical tale of urban HK youth, Truth or Dare has existential dilemmas, unrequited loves, career anxiety, and more than enough room for over-the-top popstar mugging. In the hands of a director like Joe Ma, the film could have had a candy-colored production design and fast-motion wackiness to spare—but Truth or Dare does not. The film eschews saccharine melodrama and Cantopop excess for a quality that could best be described as actual filmmaking. This isn't a diss on Ma's Feel 100% films (which are largely good despite their silliness), but it's about time that an HK youth comedy featured more buzz than bombast, and more wit than wackiness. Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat is such a film.
Luk lau hau joh
2003
Hong Kong
Truth or Dare: 6th Floor Rear Flat
